car rides

[Louiethebunny]

I’ve had my rabbit for a short while now, and was wondering if taking the bun in the car for short periods of time help ease them into driving? Soon enough we will have to take him to the vet and such and was wondering if going around the block in the car, then slowly taking longer trips can help him get used to driving? The only time we have taken him in the car was when we brought him home, and during that time he was fine and resumed eating and exploring when he got home. I also have left him in the carrier with a snack in the other room for several minutes to do some deep cleaning. I know some rabbits despise the car and some are completely fine and can manage several hour trips. My family sometimes goes out of town for weekends to Airbnbs and such and it would be cool if we could bring him (assuming he adapts to new places quickly) instead of paying for a rabbit sitter.

[CheesePizzaLMAO]

Cars do make rabbits nervous but I think if you were to keep that up, your rabbit would slowly get used to it.

[DanaNM]

I’m not sure. My experience is some bunnies from the start are less stressed by the car, and others are just stressed, no matter what you do. My sense is it has more to do with the rabbit’s personality than getting them used to the car.

Having them think of their carrier as a safe space does help in general, so if possible you can leave it out and open, as sort of hideout, all the time, so bun feels at home in it. For a while I would always feed my buns their pellets in their carrier so they would like hanging out in it.

For me it would be a balance of the length of time you’d be gone, the length of the car ride, and how stressed he gets. My impression is Louie is a pretty adaptable little dude, so he might tolerate it well, but I still would prob only take him a long for trips longer than a couple days, and for car rides that weren’t too long. Sorry if that’s vague! lol

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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